Revelers danced and made floral crowns at the Eisenhauer Gallery this weekend to celebrate Island artist Janice Frame, whose mixed-media pieces celebrate African beauty.
“Beauty is beauty. That is my goal,” Ms. Frame said.
She added that she hopes her work will highlight the beauty of Black people for her audience, a view she feels is not commonly portrayed in media.
“Let’s face it, for this community, Edgartown, I didn’t think that all these African faces would work,” Ms. Frame said. “The thing that makes it so beautiful for me is that people recognize the beauty of Africans.”
She added that she was grateful for gallerists on the Island, like Elizabeth Eisenhauer of Eisenhauer Gallery and Zita Cousens of the Cousen Rose Gallery, for helping promote work with such a focus.
Ms. Frame, who taught art at the West Tisbury school and Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School before retiring in 2013, took inspiration from the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists (AfriCOBRA), an artist collective that was founded in Chicago in 1968.
Like the work of AfriCOBRA, Ms. Frame’s portraits are full of bright colors and patterns that are inspired by African regalia. Multiple layers and additions of items such as earrings and shells add dimension to her portraits.
Ms. Frame is a multi-media artist, and as such her work has taken several forms throughout the years. An earlier exhibit of hers at the Cousen Rose Gallery showcased dolls she made dressed in regalia. She imported the jewelry and other items, such as miniature Kenyan baskets, for the dolls.
Ms. Frame has lived on the Island since 1985. She summered on Martha’s Vineyard as a child and was so taken with the artistic community that she decided to move to the Island as an adult.
“I think this Island has been gifted with openness,” Ms. Frame said, “and it was because of the artists.”
In Ms. Frame’s time as a creative and a teacher, she has seen the Vineyard grow to become more accepting.
“I think people are learning,” Ms. Frame said. “I think that people are awakening to the diversity of people. I think that’s what Edgartown wants to do.”
The Janice Frame exhibition will be on display at the Eisenhauer Gallery in Edgartown until August 16.
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